Fall River Symphony Orchestra names new conductor

Saturday

Jun 14, 2014 at 10:00 PM

Douglas McRay Daniels looking forward to new season

Linda Murphy Lifestyle Editor @HNFastFood

FALL RIVER - Douglas McRay Daniels may not be the next American Idol, but he may feel like one after “competing” to become the Fall River Symphony Orchestra’s new music director/conductor. After trying out four guest conductors over the past season, the FRSO selected Daniels to lead the community orchestra’s upcoming season.

“The selection of a permanent conductor for the FRSO was a challenging process. The four guest conductors this season were all outstanding,” said Betty Yokell, FRSO publicity chairwoman. The “Fall River Symphony Orchestra looks forward to an exciting season in 2014-2015,” she added. The FRSO’s longtime conductor/music director, Ann Danis, retired at the end of the 2012 season after leading the community orchestra for 10 years.

Over the past season the members of the orchestra and the audience filled out questionnaires at the end of each guest conductor’s concert and after all of the data was analyzed, Yokell said Daniels emerged as the season favorite. The contract is for one year, but Yokell it could be extended beyond the first year.

In addition to Daniels, the past season’s guest conductors vying for the position were Andy Chau, director of Career Support Services and Student Programs at The Boston Conservatory, Manager of the Rivers Conservatory Youth Wind Ensemble, and Managing Director of the Alcyon Chamber Ensemble; Channing Yu, Music Director of the Mercury Orchestra in Cambridge; and Benjamin Vickers, Zander Conducting Fellow for the 2012-2013 season of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.

“I was really impressed with the ensemble,” said Daniels, adding he was elated to be selected to conduct and direct the orchestra from among such a strong group of candidates. “Musically, I thought they were easy to work with and very ambitious. And what I felt was more important was their personalities — they were very warm and welcoming, easy to get along with and relate to. I see myself generating some great relationships there.”

Daniels, a resident of Medford, is co-chair of the Gann Academy Arts Department, music director for the Bentley University Chamber Orchestra, associate conductor of the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra and founder and artistic director of 3rd Sundays at 3 Chamber Music Series. Shortly after learning that the FRSO selected him, Daniels added another position to his impressive resume: musical director/conductor of the Lincoln Sudbury Civic Orchestra.

As for the upcoming season with the FRSO, Daniels said, “my vision is to bring a freshness and a crispness to what we do. We’re there to serve the audience. In a way, we’re like civil servants bringing this music to the people.”

Daniels said he doesn’t anticipate making any drastic changes in the kinds of musical selections the FRSO performs at its concerts; instead, he said it will be a honeymoon period with him getting to know the community orchestra better, and vice versa.

One of his future goals personally, he said, is to engage new and younger audiences, in response to shrinking audiences for orchestras performing classical music. Similarly, he said pops music, which was the music of the 1950s and 1960s for audiences in those decades, has stayed the same for current audiences. “I’m interested in finding that balance. I want to do a pops concert with ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or the Red Hot Chili peppers music,” he said. “I want to engage the community.”

As for his own musical taste, Daniels said he’s very eclectic. “I love jazz, choral music, orchestral music.... In my own CDs, I have country, heavy metal, hip hop, gospel. It runs the gamut, depending on the day,” he said.

The Fall River Symphony is a community orchestra committed to providing performance opportunities for local musicians and to presenting concerts by a full symphonic orchestra for our community. Members range in age from high school to senior citizens. Musicians interested in joining the orchestra may contact them through www.FallRiverSymphonyOrchestra.org and the Fall River Symphony Orchestra Facebook page.

More about Douglas McRay Daniels

Daniels’ posts have included: assistant conductor of theHeartland Philharmonic Orchestra in Omaha, Nebraska; the Marlborough Symphony Orchestra (now known as Metrowest Symphony) in Marlborough; Sinfonia conductor at Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. and the conductor of the Honors Orchestra at Nashoba Youth Orchestras.

His Boston area guest conducting appointments have included the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Boston Invitational Trombone Ensemble and Quincy Symphony Orchestra. Recently, he was identified as a promising young conductor by the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and was invited to participate in the Omaha Symphony Conductor Symposium. There, he worked with renowned conductors Thomas Wilkins and Mark Gibson on preparing for the musical and administrative demands of 21st century music directors. In 2014 he was invited to work with the Berlin Sinfonietta and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra in Kromeriz, Czech Republic.